title: In vivo study of the biocompatibility of a novel compressed collagen hydrogel scaffold for artificial corneas.
abstract: The experiments were designed to evaluate the biocompatibility of a plastically compressed collagen scaffold (PCCS). The ultrastructure of the PCCS was observed via scanning electron microscopy. Twenty New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into experimental and control groups that received corneal pocket transplantation with PCCS and an amniotic membrane, respectively. And the contralateral eye of the implanted rabbit served as the normal group. On the 1st, 7th, 14th, 21st, 30th, 60th, 90th, and 120th postoperative day, the eyes were observed via a slit lamp. On the 120th postoperative day, the rabbit eyes were enucleated to examine the tissue compatibility of the implanted stroma. The PCCS was white and translucent. The scanning electron microscopy results showed that fibers within the PCCS were densely packed and evenly arranged. No edema, inflammation, or neovascularization was observed on ocular surface under a slit lamp and few lymphocytes were observed in the stroma of rabbit cornea after histological study. In conclusion, the PCCS has extremely high biocompatibility and is a promising corneal scaffold for an artificial cornea.
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Institute of Ophthalmology, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710002, People's Republic of China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Eye, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710002, People's Republic of China; Xi'an First Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710002, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xianghua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Shiyin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Xianning
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiuping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Che John
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Connon
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Shengli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry*; D003315:Cornea / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D016039:Corneal Transplantation; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020100:Hydrogels; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D003094:Collagen
keywords: biocompatibility; collagen hydrogel; corneal tissue engineering; scaffold